Becoming one of the most famous athletes in the world is not an easy task and when you are from India and not a cricketer, it’s surely a massive task to make your mark and name in the country. For every athlete winning a medal for the country is a moment they dream about. Their aim is to stand in the podium with the Indian flag and with the national anthem playing in the background.
This can be a moment of pride for anyone. Whenever athletes have made the country proud in Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or Olympics – we have made them heroes for a month or two but soon after we have a tendency to forget about them and switch our focus back to ‘our so-called religion – Cricket’.
We look at some of the athletes who were once treated as heroes but now they are struggling for recognition or even get a basic acknowledgement.
Santhi Soundarajan was the Indian track and field athlete. She was stripped of a silver medal she won at the 2006 Asian Games after failing a sex verification test which disputed her eligibility to participate in the women’s competition. After that, she was forced to take up work at a brick kiln along with her parents.
Santhi Soundarajan
Succumbing to “abject poverty”, Bangkok Grand Prix medallist Nisha Rani Dutta was forced to sell her world-class archery equipment. She won medals at the Asian Championship and the Asian Grand Prix but eventually gave up her career to help support her family. She sold her world-class silver bow to repair her family”s home.
Nisha Rani Dutta
Mohammed Yousuf Khan was part of the football team that won the Gold medal in 1962 Asian Games but unfortunately, he led most of his life in darkness. During his career, he suffered several head injuries and he later developed Parkinson’s Syndrome. Yousuf was forced to live on the Rs. 3500 monthly pension which he got because he was a part of the Hyderabad police team and later he got Rs. 2000 from the central government.
Mohammed Yousuf Khan
The legendary hockey goalkeeper represented India in three Olympics – 1956, 1960 and 1964. He also led the team to victory at the Asian Games in 1966 which was held in Bangkok. After his retirement from the game, he joined the army but had a very hard time during his end days of life. The Government gave him just 25,000 rupees as financial assistance. After a long battle with gangrene and poverty, he passed away.
Shankar Laxman
Representing India at the 1954 Asian Games for the 110-metre hurdles, Sarwan Singh won the gold for the country. But his achievements were not enough to live a decent life and earn him a job. He was forced to beg due to extreme poverty and rode a taxi for nearly 20 years.
Sarwan Singh
